kickstart

I'm on my third moderately expensive motorcycle helmet for the 1 inexpensive one my wife has ($280+ Vs. $45). Fewer features and a little more weight can dramatically increase durability.
But to be fair, there's no way a $45 helmet can be found with the features the more expensive one has.

I-Like-To-Bike

Oh that is a fair statement; what is "unfair" is the claim that the reason for the the high price tag is the cost of manufacturing or incorporating those differences into the expensive helmets.

jbenkert111

I ride for Fitness, to get faster, and safety. To get fit my bikes cost less then $400, to get faster, I train harder, and to be safe, I wear helmets that cost $25 or less. :-))

bbbean 

Why is it unfair?

I-Like-To-Bike

Perhaps false would be a better term to describe the claim that the reason for the the high price tag is the cost of manufacturing or incorporating those differences into the expensive helmets.

JoeyBike

Part of the allure of high end helmets is the claim that every year or so some significant "improvements" have been made to the design and materials used. In order to claim this, there has to be some effort and added expenses - engineering, material search, testing, complex manufacturing process, and marketing. The people doing these things, and the new molds etc., must be figured into the cost of the "cutting edge" helmets.

"Old school" helmet designs that have not changed for several years do not have these expenses any more which allows them to be sold at lower prices. Eventually some advanced technology trickles down to cheaper helmets which is why some cheaper models are very good and fairly light.

As I see it the arguments in this thread boils down to two schools of thought:

1. High end helmets are "better" in some way, they cost more to produce, and the consumer pays more for whatever "better" means, and

2. High end helmets cost exactly the same as low end helmets to produce but through some worldwide conspiracy all of the major helmet manufacturers have colluded to jack up the price on certain models and call them "super" helmets with no justification for the higher prices i.e. "The Emperor's New Clothes" phenomenon.

Are some of us being fooled by the helmet makers or some of us just fools period?

bbbean 

Who claims that? Can you cite a hemlet ad?

rekmeyata

Because the straps and buckles the less expensive helmets use are fragile and won't last long, also again the cover they use to cover the styrofoam will either melt or warp is subject to heat, and or separate from the helmet. You should take your nice helmet down to Walmart and compare with their stuff, then you'll see.

Joe Minton

I can assure Y'all that cheap helmets 'work' just as well as expensive ones. By 'work' I mean perform their primary function: reduce peak instantaneous loads (expressed in "g"s) on the wearer's head. They all, at least in the USA, must pass the same impact tests, cheap or otherwise.

Helmet design is complicated in several ways, but --- they all must perform to the same test standard.

BTW: The EPS (Expanded Bead Polystyrene, otherwise known as Styrofoam) typically lasts 20-years or so. Don't be too quick to condemn and throw you helmet away.

Joe

JoeyBike

It's not the styrene that is the issue (And there are many types of EPS out there for various uses, not just ONE kind). UV and other environmental elements break down the outer shell over a relatively short period of time per unit of exposure. Those who live in the Sun Belt will "wear out" helmets faster than those at more northern latitudes and those who ride more during peak daylight hours will degrade the shell faster than those who ride less, or at early AM or late PM solar angles.

The shell is not just a pretty thing added to helmets for fun. Once the shell is compromised by excessive UV exposure the "protective" qualities of the helmet is compromised. Except for those here who think helmets don't add any protection at all. I agree that YOUR helmets are immune to the effects of environmental exposure (if you were to wear one at all).

I-Like-To-Bike

You obviously have not read what your comrades are posting on this thread.

Helmet ads? Can't recall too many aimed at consumers since the infamous "Courage for Your Head" campaign from Bell. Believe they find it more profitable to promote mandatory helmet laws and so-called helmet safety campaigns in the media.

Joe Minton

JoeyBike:

There's much that I did not say about helmet construction and the various issues regarding their design, testing and what happens to them on the street, under the Sun, etc; things which I know a great deal about. But because of the toxicity regarding helmets in conversation on BF, I choose to say things that are singular in focus and, perhaps, useful to those of us who actually want to know facts. I could probably write a book (which only my friends and family are likely to read) about helmets (motorcycle, football, bicycle) but it just isn't important enough to pursue.

However:
From time-to-time I shall share, for the use of those of us who care about true things, some of what I know about the matter. For instance: Bicycle helmet shells have less to do with protection in an impact than many believe. And, it isn't how fast one is going forward as much as how far one is falling toward the center of the Earth (fall height) that matters in the great majority of head-to-ground impacts.

Question:
Would you buy 'this' new television that rattled around in a box without padding, or -- the one over there that was packed in EPS (Styrofoam)? ---- As they say in court: “Asked and answered”.

;o) Joe

BTW: Styrofoam as a helmet liner material was discovered, as a serendipity, when a university laboratory ordered an expensive German camera and found that it was cuddled in styrofoam. -- JM

bbbean 

I was referring to manufacturers claims. Posters can claim all sorts of things.

If you haven't seen a helmet ad, I have to assume you don't go to bike shops, read bike mags, visit bike websites, or get bike related emails. Must make it hard to keep up.

I-Like-To-Bike

I agree that some posters do claim all sorts of things; especially about helmets.

I am interested in bicycling, not in "keeping up" with the latest and greatest product being hyped or hawked /by bike shops, bike mags, or bike websites.

bbbean 

How would you know if those things are hype since you never see them?

rekmeyata

Yup...sort of anyways. When I lived in the "sunbelt" of S. California my helmets would last about 3 years before the styrofoam would begin to degrade leaving small particles on my head; since I moved to a less of a sunbelt area of Indiana they last about 6 years...but 20 years? NO WAY, unless you don't wear it.

I-Like-To-Bike

Not giving a damn about and/or not being duped by marketing hype is not the same as not being aware of it. I'm done responding to your obtuseness on the subject.

JoeyBike

I think the chances that any one of my 4 helmets will actually protect my head have far better odds than this ever happening...

bbbean 

But you obviously do give a damn, since you've spent so much time thinking and posting about it!

bbbean 

Mark Stone

This thread has run its course and has gone OT. Closed.